(Cracks knuckles) Oops, Mom says that's bad for me. (Stretches muscles)
HERE GOES!!! CHAPTER TWO: POWER.
Here we go: SHOUT OUTS!!! I love any and all reviews!! I love response to my stories, okay? So, I love all my reviewers!!! Hugs to all!
Sarcastic Pessimist: @_@. . . Never thought of pairings. I know on my notes last chapter, I mentioned it was non-yaoi, so that cuts out a lot of pairings, but there is little romance in this story (if you look at the rest of my stories, that's rare for me!!). But the main pair that plays a huge part of this story is Wufei and Nataku, his almost-so-close wife. I think that the real story between them is so sad, so I honor that relationship a lot. She died to save him, and I feel sorry for both. (Sigh. . . Doing a fic of that too!) But about Quatre and Dorothy, NO CHANCE!! They have a friendship that I pass over in some upcoming chapter. . . But that's all, and I make sure to put that on very specifically.
Kat R. Fair: ^_^ Love it when people love it!!! The silent bodyguard? Heero? There is someone who talks less than Heero!! And who bonds stronger than Heero does, which might incur the "faithful dog" feeling about him. (In my next fic I'm working on now, Quatre displays that quality.) And you haven't even met Heero yet in this fic. He's coming in now, in this chapter. Glad you like Duo's part, and what do you think about him being royalty? (Hey, cute, powerful, and royal! He's getting better every time!!) Later on, much later on, I -through Duo- tell about how that finger snapping works. YAY!!! Thanks for telling me how my characterization is going!! I guess have Episode Zero helped a lot!!! Can you tell I'm a little hyper???? The extra exclamation marks show that!!!! (Sigh. . . Again. . .)
NOTES:
BROUGHT UP: by Sarcastic Pessimist: Only couple is Wufei/Nataku. Very important part brought up later. There is some unrequited love between Middie (a character only in Zero, I think) and Trowa. You'll meet her later.
BIG ONE: I intend on posting this story every Saturday morning. That's the only time I know I can get the computer. I know that I'm usually bad at posting regularly, though, so just have some patience (PLEASE!!).
Ever had one of those days where everything went wonderfully but you're still in a bad mood? I hate those kind of days.
Me no own Gundam Wing. Got it? Good. I do own Lord Une and Moriko, though. (They'll come up later)
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[Ni es tan bueno, ni es tan malo]
[Le falta sustancia, lo encuentro normal]
[Intenta convencerme, inclina la balanza]
[Y haremos algo personal]
/Neither too good nor too bad\
/It lacks substance, I find it normal\
/Try to convince me, incline the balance\
/And we'll make it something personal\ ~Ella Baila Sola (She Dances Alone)
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Wufei walked down the streets, making his strides long and ground devouring. The horses beside him pranced as the King led the small procession through the city. The princess rode behind him, her red hair and pretty features seeming to stun the commoners. Several other guards rode, but they were from a lower rank than Wufei. Wufei was the highest of the King's Guard, and he had the honor of serving the king.
A shout rose among the crowd and a thing pushed through the crowd. A sharp cry, strangely human, rose from its throat and it fell to its knees before the king. Guards jumped to grab it, and Wufei caught a look of desperate blue eyes.
A boy. A young man, actually, and he was ragged beyond belief. Wufei felt a sharp pang of pity. His hair was long, scruffy and dirty. At one time, it might have been a blond color, but now was so dyed with mud and inattention that it was a muddy gold that blended in with the people.
"Hold him," the king commanded coldly, and the young man was forced to his knees. "What do you think you are doing, Commoner?" The man looked up, his eyes soft and pleading. His lips moved but no noise issued from them.
Wufei could smell it. It was so terrible of a stink that he wished he had not smelt it. Power. The scent of power, reeking and stinking worse than his unclean smell. It flowed so openly off of him that Wufei had to plug his nose.
His mind suddenly registered an important fact. The smell came before an attack came. Wufei instinctively jumped in front of his king and saw the flash of power before he drew his sword. A raw physical attack with enchanter power? Little or no training, Wufei presumed. He swiped it away and the young man stumbled under his retaliation blow. Though not fully strengthened as this man, Wufei had his own enchanter power, but not enough to be trained as an enchanter.
The guards quickly knocked him unconscious and the body crumpled to the ground. "My King?" a guard asked, and Treize frowned.
"Bring him with. Chang, clean him, feed him, and cut his hair to the mage length. Don't let him get away now." Wufei grumbled, but managed to procure from an old man a donkey with a cart, which he brought the Potential to the castle in. Through the castle walls, into the dungeon structure, and into a cell. From there, the old man took his donkey and pocketed a few choice coppers.
Wufei glowered at the putrid young man. Obviously, he had been a street rat for some time. His hair was nearly past his waist, and not taken care of in the least. Wufei drew his sword, clean and sharp, made for slicing through bodies, not cutting the hair of peasants.
He sheathed it quickly and called for shears from the dungeon keeper. As he waited, he took some twine and tied the hair back to the head. It was too thick to all fit into a mage tail. Wufei sighed and pulled out some choice strands to be cut short and formed the tail. The shears came quickly enough, considering the dungeon keep had to go to the shepherds to get them. Two large snips later, much hair lay about the dungeon floor. Wufei tossed it to the side; the rats would like that for nests instead of torn shirts.
He took out the tail and then called for some water, clean stuff from the river, and some soap. It was a rich bath for a poor soul, but his king had ordered him cleaned. First came his hair, and Wufei grimaced at the amount of grime, sweat, and dried mud that came off on his hands. A sponge bath came next, and Wufei wondered that the man did not wake up. The attack with the power must have drained him.
Wufei chose to honor the fact that his king had said nothing of clothes. The peasant's dirty things were left lying on the ground beside him and Wufei finished his work with tying back his hair.
'Strange,' he thought to himself as he looked at the man. 'He looks familiar.' He heard a sharp murmur of pain before the subtle scent of power started to radiate off of the man again. Wufei quickly mentally rebuked it, and his efforts caused the boy to awaken with a gasp.
One look at those blue eyes with his hair tied back and short, his body clean and white again, and Wufei felt his heart rate speed up. He knew who this was. He stumbled back as the boy sat up, holding his head. His eyes cast about, but he did not find Wufei. He was gone.
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Duo was awoken from his daily nap with a jolt that threw him to the floor. Gasping in pain as he held his now throbbing head, he gingerly felt with his gift for what had attacked him.
Power. Energy so strong his own enchanter power looked pathetic. Untrained and just pulling upon itself to protect. But it was gone. Lost in a steady stream of life that floated gently by.
Another Potential had probably died. A strong Potential had just died. Duo shook his head in pity and got to his feet, gripping his trunk to hold himself steady. Too many died before training.
But then again, he had no proof that it had died. It could have simply been knocked unconscious. But to attack in such a violent way usually meant an attack on their body. To be knocked unconscious is not a good way to defend oneself from death.
A hand gripped his outstretched arm and lowered him back to his bed. "Sleep. It was a strong blow. Drink this and sleep and forget." Duo gratefully took the cup from his boy and sipped. The spicy taste of ginger mingled with the bitter taste of elderroot, and he grimaced. But it did the trick, as his boy had been trained to do. His vision cleared and he saw his boy enough to nod in gratitude before he slipped into a drug- induced sleep.
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Wufei did not even bother to knock as he burst into his king's door. Treize gave Wufei a disapproving look before he nodded his approval to speak.
"My King, I found the heir to the Winners!"
Treize looked at Wufei in shock. "The boy?"
"Yes! He is the exact image of Lady Catherine!" Treize stood and glowered at his bodyguard.
"Are you sure?" Wufei only nodded to Treize as the King swept out the door. Wufei trotted after him, the memory of that face still implanted in his face. Treize was moving fast enough that he looked to be walking, but at the speed of a fast jog. Wufei jogged after him and tried to clear the haunting image of the Lady Catherine from his mind. She was a Lady of Perdition, and she had come to Loquacity for help. Treize had opened his castle, but she soon disappeared, with her newborn son. Her body had been discovered on the river, eaten by dogs. Her son had yet to be found, and it was certain of his death.
But Wufei was certain of the fact that this was the missing boy. By memory, Wufei's feet traced the steps and he followed his king into the depths of the dungeon. At some point, Treize pushed Wufei to lead him, and soon, Wufei found himself before the door. Murmuring an oath, he pushed open the door to find a very confused looking young man cowering in the corner.
There was no doubting those eyes and that face. His king stepped into the room and gasped in shock. "By the river, it is him!" The heir to wealth in another land stared at them with wide, blue eyes. To Wufei's surprise, Treize lowered himself to his knees, one hand outstretched appealingly. "Come here, Quatre."
Wufei's ears caught the name and he tried it on his tongue. It fit him. Quatre perked up at his name and he stared openly at Treize. He frowned and then moved his mouth, swallowed, and moved his mouth again. Slowly, like a lid on rusty hinges, his mouth opened and he made a guttural sound.
"I will not harm you, Quatre," Treize murmured soothingly. "Come here." The young man made another sound before Wufei caught a sound much like a word.
"He's mute, I'd bet," Wufei muttered, watching the determined look on his face as the boy continued to attempt to speak. Treize glanced up at Wufei and nodded.
"He must be. I can cure him, but only if he'll come."
"Wh-ee-r?"
Wufei's eyes widened in shock. "Did he just say what I thought he said?"
"Whe-er?"
"You are at my castle, Quatre," Treize explained calmly. "Please come here." Gone was the soft, soothing tone he had used before. It was replaced by a commanding tone, and the mute stumbled to his knees, his raggedy tatters hanging like the rags they were to the ground. Slowly, he crawled across the open space, his eyes warily focused on the king. Every now and then his eyes flickered to Wufei and his sword, but most of his attention was on Treize.
Gradually, Treize reached out his hand to Quatre's throat, caressing it encouragingly for a moment before he gripped it tightly. Quatre cried out in surprise and jumped back, fear in his eyes.
"Did it work?" Wufei asked quietly. The contact had not seemed to be more than a moment. To his surprise, his king nodded, a grin on his face. Quatre fingered his throat as if it burned him.
"Water . . ." he murmured, as if it pained him to speak. His eyes widened at his own words and he swallowed. "Please?"
Wufei ran like never before. The bucket of water he carried with him only cooled the fire raging in the ex-mute's throat, but it was enough. The young heir, who did not know his own fortune, wiped his mouth messily and watched the two watching him. His dirty sleeve left a streak of dirt on his face, but he did not pay it any heed. "What do you wish of me?"
Treize smiled as if he was in a simple conversation. "I know that you have a great power, possibly the greatest ever seen in a human. It drives you mad, doesn't it?" Quatre nodded slowly. "I can give you training to prevent that, if you use your gifts to help me, as I have used and will use my clothing, my food, and my money to help you." Wufei frowned at the deal, but schooled his face to disinterest as the man looked to him for a clue to the strings.
Slowly, his head bobbed in the slightest of nods. "I agree. Your Kingship."
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Night. When all was dark and his mind roamed beyond his body. Sometimes, his body joined it, but most of the time, his physical sense lay in his bed, eyes wide with sightlessness and his mind lost in the depths of the darkness.
But tonight, he could not find the strength to let his mind leave. It was too hard tonight. The Potential had blasted him very well, as with most other enchanted out there. But since he, Duo, was sensitive to other powers, it hurt him more. (1)
Groaning, Duo leaned against a wall as a wave of weakness washed over him. His own power was having trouble rebuilding. He was starting to worry that the blast had permanently damaged him.
His ever-present barrier rang with the shock of a person entering it. His eyes snapped open and he found two very blue, very angry eyes staring at him. A knife caressed his throat and Duo stood still, his violet eyes staring at those eyes.
"Who is your king?" the shadow asked. Duo swallowed and steadied his nerve. Though not afraid of death, he was still not ready for it.
"My king is Darlian, and no other."
The shadow was silent and not moving. After a long time, his knife left the throat, only to reappear at his abdomen, pressed into where his stomach was. Though Duo knew little of war wounds or fighting with blades, he had heard stories of men who were stabbed there that lived for days, weeks, in terrible pain before they died, eaten by their own body. He had seen a few of those men before the war had ended.
"Who is your king?"
Better to die knowing that he had not lied. "My king is Darlian."
The shadow smirked, he knew, even though he could not see it. "Good. Get to your bed, Enchanter." Duo watched in wonder as the shadow slunk down the darkened hallway. Drawing upon his reserves, Duo willed the torches lining the wall to come on, and they did, revealing a young man about his age. The man stopped and stared straight ahead, and the torches winked out.
"I know you."
"Most who see me do."
"You work for Darlian."
"I patrol the halls to make sure none will harm him."
"My mouth will not betray you."
"I had hoped so. I'd hate to kill you after just meeting you."
With that, Duo felt his presence disappear and Duo took in a deep breath. Well, that was interesting.
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The next day showed Wufei getting up early to awaken Quatre. The boy, as Wufei started calling him because his naivete made him seem childish, was awake as he came in to the lavish room the king had assigned him. His eyes were wide with delight as he exclaimed over the clothes that the king had given him. They were soft and pliable, but too large, Wufei noted coldly. Never did he get that sort of gift.
He was about to leave when Wufei stopped him, pointing to the hair that fell about his head messily. Quatre blinked at it.
"What is wrong with leaving it?"
"It is not presentable," Wufei grunted, taking the coarse camelhair brush and pulling it through his hair. The boy complied, only wincing when he pulled too hard. Wufei then pulled it into a high ponytail, quite a feat with the short hair. Once that was done, Wufei stepped back. The mage's tail looked good on him, with some hairs falling out to frame his face lightly.
"That hurts," Quatre mumbled, following Wufei out the door.
"It is a mage tail, as your king wished."
"It still hurts."
Wufei could not help but think about it. Just because his king wished it did not mean he was happy with guarding his new enchanter. Just because his king wished it did not mean the mage tail did not hurt.
Slowly, Wufei reached up to touch his warrior's tail, a short spiky tail lower on his head, closer to his neck. How long did he suffer a throbbing scalp before his hair grew accustomed to wearing it like it he did?
"It won't for very long."
Quatre looked up at him and smiled.
Wufei found the tower that his king had directed him to and slowly led the way up the steps. As he heard it, the man he was searching out was insane, living as a bird, flying out the window when he cared to.
But he was the only one in the entire kingdom who could train an enchanter. For one did not need to be an enchanter to train them. They just had to know what to do, how to train, what to do if something goes out of control, etcetera. This man knew it, and was somehow related or something to the king. So he was kept, and now was of use.
Wufei came upon a door in the spiraling stairs and rapped on it. There was a sudden sound as if something was dropped, and then some livid screams came before the man opened the door, a looked of pure rage on his face.
"WHAT?" he screamed in Wufei's face. Wufei did not back down.
"I assume you got the message from the king?"
The man paused. "Yes. I've seen you around, and you don't have the power to be trained. Go away."
"I am not the one you are to train," Wufei explained angrily. He stepped aside and pushed Quatre before the man. His eyes were big and wide with fear, but they held a bit of curiosity, as Wufei believed he always would.
The man's eyes widened in shock. "By the river and sand, you are strong! Get in here, and you too, you might be needed. Well, don't stand there staring, boy, get cleaning."
Wufei glared at him in horror. What, him? The King's Man, clean a sea gull excrement covered room? He really was insane. Wufei stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the man set the boy to work pushing things into the wall and then covered with pillows and other soft items. A circle was made, the pillows covering the furniture.
He chose to stand outside.
"I recommend you stand in here," the man said calmly. Wufei shook his head viciously and the man shrugged. "Your choice. Boy, what is your name?"
"I am Quatre. May I ask yours?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "What is he, some nobleman's son? Never mind, I've not seen such manners. My name is Rasid."
Quatre nodded and he sat as Rasid commanded with his eyes.
"Now, to make sure you do not blind people like you have been doing to those with my sensitivity, we will work on hiding that power. Having power is good for having it. Having power is bad for others wanting it."
Wufei felt his heart rate pick up as he remembered the deal Quatre had made with his king, but neither noticed, for Rasid was already pushing him to hiding his power. Quatre caught the concept quickly, but soon Wufei found a problem.
He could see the power. Usually, he just smelt it or felt it. Now, he could see it, building, making Quatre glow the same color as his eyes. Wufei could see the look of discomfort as the power grew within, pleading to be let out. Slowly, the power started to move, from his limbs to his torso, to his head, where Wufei knew destructive powers lay.
Wufei wanted suddenly to run. He tried to, but such was the power in the room that he could not move at all. "Rasid!" he shouted, and he only saw the man nod slowly, his eyes focused on the concentrated power, looking like a moth about to fly to the light.
Quatre threw back his head and screamed, and with that, the power flowed out of him like a wave at the sea's coast, bursting out, roaring, sucking everything to it before it started to fling itself toward shore. But this wave went in all directions. The furniture was thrown to the wall, and the stones cracked with the power.
Wufei saw the power rushing for him, and he tried to run, but the power was so strong he could not move at all. He struggled vainly before he felt his own enchanter power being sucked out by the tsunami of power.
It slammed into him and he felt the hard stone of the wall instants before all was darkness.
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(1): My mom didn't understand, so I had to explain it. Remember when Quatre, in an attempt to protect himself, attacked Wufei with a "raw physical attack with enchanter power"? Duo wasn't there, but he was hit by it too. It was that powerful: miles away, he was hit by it. Does it make sense to you guys?
* By the River and Sand: Oath, sort of. I personally do not swear and stuff, so I say stuff like "oh my goodness", and this culture needed an oath like that. The things that are most common to them are the river and the sand, so they make oaths by it, since it seems to live forever. Got it? Good.
Mmm. . . . Mac and cheese . . . I'm too lazy to cook it myself, so my sister (big huge grin) is nice enough to cook some for me!!
Just finished watching Ella Enchanted. Good movie. I've heard it isn't like the book "at all" for those who want to know. Still need to see Hidalgo. . .
Enough of my personal life!!! (Kay: Uh, DUH!!) Here's the TEASER.
Teaser: Next chapter, named Assassin __________________________________________________________________
"It was familiar," Darlian murmured. Duo only nodded. "But it is very powerful. I have sensed it growing."
Duo did not speak. He could not understand what Darlian was saying. In a moment, he understood partially as Darlian waved to a dark corner. A figure stepped out, his blue eyes glaring at Duo for a moment before he turned his eyes back to the king.
Duo knew him instantly. The King's man, the Night One, the one who attacked him in the night that one day.
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Thanks for reading on the K.K. Express. Please have a nice day and ride the K.K. Express again! We'll be happy to transport you again!
~ Kay Kylo
REVIEW PLEASE!
Here we go: SHOUT OUTS!!! I love any and all reviews!! I love response to my stories, okay? So, I love all my reviewers!!! Hugs to all!
Sarcastic Pessimist: @_@. . . Never thought of pairings. I know on my notes last chapter, I mentioned it was non-yaoi, so that cuts out a lot of pairings, but there is little romance in this story (if you look at the rest of my stories, that's rare for me!!). But the main pair that plays a huge part of this story is Wufei and Nataku, his almost-so-close wife. I think that the real story between them is so sad, so I honor that relationship a lot. She died to save him, and I feel sorry for both. (Sigh. . . Doing a fic of that too!) But about Quatre and Dorothy, NO CHANCE!! They have a friendship that I pass over in some upcoming chapter. . . But that's all, and I make sure to put that on very specifically.
Kat R. Fair: ^_^ Love it when people love it!!! The silent bodyguard? Heero? There is someone who talks less than Heero!! And who bonds stronger than Heero does, which might incur the "faithful dog" feeling about him. (In my next fic I'm working on now, Quatre displays that quality.) And you haven't even met Heero yet in this fic. He's coming in now, in this chapter. Glad you like Duo's part, and what do you think about him being royalty? (Hey, cute, powerful, and royal! He's getting better every time!!) Later on, much later on, I -through Duo- tell about how that finger snapping works. YAY!!! Thanks for telling me how my characterization is going!! I guess have Episode Zero helped a lot!!! Can you tell I'm a little hyper???? The extra exclamation marks show that!!!! (Sigh. . . Again. . .)
NOTES:
BROUGHT UP: by Sarcastic Pessimist: Only couple is Wufei/Nataku. Very important part brought up later. There is some unrequited love between Middie (a character only in Zero, I think) and Trowa. You'll meet her later.
BIG ONE: I intend on posting this story every Saturday morning. That's the only time I know I can get the computer. I know that I'm usually bad at posting regularly, though, so just have some patience (PLEASE!!).
Ever had one of those days where everything went wonderfully but you're still in a bad mood? I hate those kind of days.
Me no own Gundam Wing. Got it? Good. I do own Lord Une and Moriko, though. (They'll come up later)
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[Ni es tan bueno, ni es tan malo]
[Le falta sustancia, lo encuentro normal]
[Intenta convencerme, inclina la balanza]
[Y haremos algo personal]
/Neither too good nor too bad\
/It lacks substance, I find it normal\
/Try to convince me, incline the balance\
/And we'll make it something personal\ ~Ella Baila Sola (She Dances Alone)
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Wufei walked down the streets, making his strides long and ground devouring. The horses beside him pranced as the King led the small procession through the city. The princess rode behind him, her red hair and pretty features seeming to stun the commoners. Several other guards rode, but they were from a lower rank than Wufei. Wufei was the highest of the King's Guard, and he had the honor of serving the king.
A shout rose among the crowd and a thing pushed through the crowd. A sharp cry, strangely human, rose from its throat and it fell to its knees before the king. Guards jumped to grab it, and Wufei caught a look of desperate blue eyes.
A boy. A young man, actually, and he was ragged beyond belief. Wufei felt a sharp pang of pity. His hair was long, scruffy and dirty. At one time, it might have been a blond color, but now was so dyed with mud and inattention that it was a muddy gold that blended in with the people.
"Hold him," the king commanded coldly, and the young man was forced to his knees. "What do you think you are doing, Commoner?" The man looked up, his eyes soft and pleading. His lips moved but no noise issued from them.
Wufei could smell it. It was so terrible of a stink that he wished he had not smelt it. Power. The scent of power, reeking and stinking worse than his unclean smell. It flowed so openly off of him that Wufei had to plug his nose.
His mind suddenly registered an important fact. The smell came before an attack came. Wufei instinctively jumped in front of his king and saw the flash of power before he drew his sword. A raw physical attack with enchanter power? Little or no training, Wufei presumed. He swiped it away and the young man stumbled under his retaliation blow. Though not fully strengthened as this man, Wufei had his own enchanter power, but not enough to be trained as an enchanter.
The guards quickly knocked him unconscious and the body crumpled to the ground. "My King?" a guard asked, and Treize frowned.
"Bring him with. Chang, clean him, feed him, and cut his hair to the mage length. Don't let him get away now." Wufei grumbled, but managed to procure from an old man a donkey with a cart, which he brought the Potential to the castle in. Through the castle walls, into the dungeon structure, and into a cell. From there, the old man took his donkey and pocketed a few choice coppers.
Wufei glowered at the putrid young man. Obviously, he had been a street rat for some time. His hair was nearly past his waist, and not taken care of in the least. Wufei drew his sword, clean and sharp, made for slicing through bodies, not cutting the hair of peasants.
He sheathed it quickly and called for shears from the dungeon keeper. As he waited, he took some twine and tied the hair back to the head. It was too thick to all fit into a mage tail. Wufei sighed and pulled out some choice strands to be cut short and formed the tail. The shears came quickly enough, considering the dungeon keep had to go to the shepherds to get them. Two large snips later, much hair lay about the dungeon floor. Wufei tossed it to the side; the rats would like that for nests instead of torn shirts.
He took out the tail and then called for some water, clean stuff from the river, and some soap. It was a rich bath for a poor soul, but his king had ordered him cleaned. First came his hair, and Wufei grimaced at the amount of grime, sweat, and dried mud that came off on his hands. A sponge bath came next, and Wufei wondered that the man did not wake up. The attack with the power must have drained him.
Wufei chose to honor the fact that his king had said nothing of clothes. The peasant's dirty things were left lying on the ground beside him and Wufei finished his work with tying back his hair.
'Strange,' he thought to himself as he looked at the man. 'He looks familiar.' He heard a sharp murmur of pain before the subtle scent of power started to radiate off of the man again. Wufei quickly mentally rebuked it, and his efforts caused the boy to awaken with a gasp.
One look at those blue eyes with his hair tied back and short, his body clean and white again, and Wufei felt his heart rate speed up. He knew who this was. He stumbled back as the boy sat up, holding his head. His eyes cast about, but he did not find Wufei. He was gone.
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Duo was awoken from his daily nap with a jolt that threw him to the floor. Gasping in pain as he held his now throbbing head, he gingerly felt with his gift for what had attacked him.
Power. Energy so strong his own enchanter power looked pathetic. Untrained and just pulling upon itself to protect. But it was gone. Lost in a steady stream of life that floated gently by.
Another Potential had probably died. A strong Potential had just died. Duo shook his head in pity and got to his feet, gripping his trunk to hold himself steady. Too many died before training.
But then again, he had no proof that it had died. It could have simply been knocked unconscious. But to attack in such a violent way usually meant an attack on their body. To be knocked unconscious is not a good way to defend oneself from death.
A hand gripped his outstretched arm and lowered him back to his bed. "Sleep. It was a strong blow. Drink this and sleep and forget." Duo gratefully took the cup from his boy and sipped. The spicy taste of ginger mingled with the bitter taste of elderroot, and he grimaced. But it did the trick, as his boy had been trained to do. His vision cleared and he saw his boy enough to nod in gratitude before he slipped into a drug- induced sleep.
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Wufei did not even bother to knock as he burst into his king's door. Treize gave Wufei a disapproving look before he nodded his approval to speak.
"My King, I found the heir to the Winners!"
Treize looked at Wufei in shock. "The boy?"
"Yes! He is the exact image of Lady Catherine!" Treize stood and glowered at his bodyguard.
"Are you sure?" Wufei only nodded to Treize as the King swept out the door. Wufei trotted after him, the memory of that face still implanted in his face. Treize was moving fast enough that he looked to be walking, but at the speed of a fast jog. Wufei jogged after him and tried to clear the haunting image of the Lady Catherine from his mind. She was a Lady of Perdition, and she had come to Loquacity for help. Treize had opened his castle, but she soon disappeared, with her newborn son. Her body had been discovered on the river, eaten by dogs. Her son had yet to be found, and it was certain of his death.
But Wufei was certain of the fact that this was the missing boy. By memory, Wufei's feet traced the steps and he followed his king into the depths of the dungeon. At some point, Treize pushed Wufei to lead him, and soon, Wufei found himself before the door. Murmuring an oath, he pushed open the door to find a very confused looking young man cowering in the corner.
There was no doubting those eyes and that face. His king stepped into the room and gasped in shock. "By the river, it is him!" The heir to wealth in another land stared at them with wide, blue eyes. To Wufei's surprise, Treize lowered himself to his knees, one hand outstretched appealingly. "Come here, Quatre."
Wufei's ears caught the name and he tried it on his tongue. It fit him. Quatre perked up at his name and he stared openly at Treize. He frowned and then moved his mouth, swallowed, and moved his mouth again. Slowly, like a lid on rusty hinges, his mouth opened and he made a guttural sound.
"I will not harm you, Quatre," Treize murmured soothingly. "Come here." The young man made another sound before Wufei caught a sound much like a word.
"He's mute, I'd bet," Wufei muttered, watching the determined look on his face as the boy continued to attempt to speak. Treize glanced up at Wufei and nodded.
"He must be. I can cure him, but only if he'll come."
"Wh-ee-r?"
Wufei's eyes widened in shock. "Did he just say what I thought he said?"
"Whe-er?"
"You are at my castle, Quatre," Treize explained calmly. "Please come here." Gone was the soft, soothing tone he had used before. It was replaced by a commanding tone, and the mute stumbled to his knees, his raggedy tatters hanging like the rags they were to the ground. Slowly, he crawled across the open space, his eyes warily focused on the king. Every now and then his eyes flickered to Wufei and his sword, but most of his attention was on Treize.
Gradually, Treize reached out his hand to Quatre's throat, caressing it encouragingly for a moment before he gripped it tightly. Quatre cried out in surprise and jumped back, fear in his eyes.
"Did it work?" Wufei asked quietly. The contact had not seemed to be more than a moment. To his surprise, his king nodded, a grin on his face. Quatre fingered his throat as if it burned him.
"Water . . ." he murmured, as if it pained him to speak. His eyes widened at his own words and he swallowed. "Please?"
Wufei ran like never before. The bucket of water he carried with him only cooled the fire raging in the ex-mute's throat, but it was enough. The young heir, who did not know his own fortune, wiped his mouth messily and watched the two watching him. His dirty sleeve left a streak of dirt on his face, but he did not pay it any heed. "What do you wish of me?"
Treize smiled as if he was in a simple conversation. "I know that you have a great power, possibly the greatest ever seen in a human. It drives you mad, doesn't it?" Quatre nodded slowly. "I can give you training to prevent that, if you use your gifts to help me, as I have used and will use my clothing, my food, and my money to help you." Wufei frowned at the deal, but schooled his face to disinterest as the man looked to him for a clue to the strings.
Slowly, his head bobbed in the slightest of nods. "I agree. Your Kingship."
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Night. When all was dark and his mind roamed beyond his body. Sometimes, his body joined it, but most of the time, his physical sense lay in his bed, eyes wide with sightlessness and his mind lost in the depths of the darkness.
But tonight, he could not find the strength to let his mind leave. It was too hard tonight. The Potential had blasted him very well, as with most other enchanted out there. But since he, Duo, was sensitive to other powers, it hurt him more. (1)
Groaning, Duo leaned against a wall as a wave of weakness washed over him. His own power was having trouble rebuilding. He was starting to worry that the blast had permanently damaged him.
His ever-present barrier rang with the shock of a person entering it. His eyes snapped open and he found two very blue, very angry eyes staring at him. A knife caressed his throat and Duo stood still, his violet eyes staring at those eyes.
"Who is your king?" the shadow asked. Duo swallowed and steadied his nerve. Though not afraid of death, he was still not ready for it.
"My king is Darlian, and no other."
The shadow was silent and not moving. After a long time, his knife left the throat, only to reappear at his abdomen, pressed into where his stomach was. Though Duo knew little of war wounds or fighting with blades, he had heard stories of men who were stabbed there that lived for days, weeks, in terrible pain before they died, eaten by their own body. He had seen a few of those men before the war had ended.
"Who is your king?"
Better to die knowing that he had not lied. "My king is Darlian."
The shadow smirked, he knew, even though he could not see it. "Good. Get to your bed, Enchanter." Duo watched in wonder as the shadow slunk down the darkened hallway. Drawing upon his reserves, Duo willed the torches lining the wall to come on, and they did, revealing a young man about his age. The man stopped and stared straight ahead, and the torches winked out.
"I know you."
"Most who see me do."
"You work for Darlian."
"I patrol the halls to make sure none will harm him."
"My mouth will not betray you."
"I had hoped so. I'd hate to kill you after just meeting you."
With that, Duo felt his presence disappear and Duo took in a deep breath. Well, that was interesting.
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The next day showed Wufei getting up early to awaken Quatre. The boy, as Wufei started calling him because his naivete made him seem childish, was awake as he came in to the lavish room the king had assigned him. His eyes were wide with delight as he exclaimed over the clothes that the king had given him. They were soft and pliable, but too large, Wufei noted coldly. Never did he get that sort of gift.
He was about to leave when Wufei stopped him, pointing to the hair that fell about his head messily. Quatre blinked at it.
"What is wrong with leaving it?"
"It is not presentable," Wufei grunted, taking the coarse camelhair brush and pulling it through his hair. The boy complied, only wincing when he pulled too hard. Wufei then pulled it into a high ponytail, quite a feat with the short hair. Once that was done, Wufei stepped back. The mage's tail looked good on him, with some hairs falling out to frame his face lightly.
"That hurts," Quatre mumbled, following Wufei out the door.
"It is a mage tail, as your king wished."
"It still hurts."
Wufei could not help but think about it. Just because his king wished it did not mean he was happy with guarding his new enchanter. Just because his king wished it did not mean the mage tail did not hurt.
Slowly, Wufei reached up to touch his warrior's tail, a short spiky tail lower on his head, closer to his neck. How long did he suffer a throbbing scalp before his hair grew accustomed to wearing it like it he did?
"It won't for very long."
Quatre looked up at him and smiled.
Wufei found the tower that his king had directed him to and slowly led the way up the steps. As he heard it, the man he was searching out was insane, living as a bird, flying out the window when he cared to.
But he was the only one in the entire kingdom who could train an enchanter. For one did not need to be an enchanter to train them. They just had to know what to do, how to train, what to do if something goes out of control, etcetera. This man knew it, and was somehow related or something to the king. So he was kept, and now was of use.
Wufei came upon a door in the spiraling stairs and rapped on it. There was a sudden sound as if something was dropped, and then some livid screams came before the man opened the door, a looked of pure rage on his face.
"WHAT?" he screamed in Wufei's face. Wufei did not back down.
"I assume you got the message from the king?"
The man paused. "Yes. I've seen you around, and you don't have the power to be trained. Go away."
"I am not the one you are to train," Wufei explained angrily. He stepped aside and pushed Quatre before the man. His eyes were big and wide with fear, but they held a bit of curiosity, as Wufei believed he always would.
The man's eyes widened in shock. "By the river and sand, you are strong! Get in here, and you too, you might be needed. Well, don't stand there staring, boy, get cleaning."
Wufei glared at him in horror. What, him? The King's Man, clean a sea gull excrement covered room? He really was insane. Wufei stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the man set the boy to work pushing things into the wall and then covered with pillows and other soft items. A circle was made, the pillows covering the furniture.
He chose to stand outside.
"I recommend you stand in here," the man said calmly. Wufei shook his head viciously and the man shrugged. "Your choice. Boy, what is your name?"
"I am Quatre. May I ask yours?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "What is he, some nobleman's son? Never mind, I've not seen such manners. My name is Rasid."
Quatre nodded and he sat as Rasid commanded with his eyes.
"Now, to make sure you do not blind people like you have been doing to those with my sensitivity, we will work on hiding that power. Having power is good for having it. Having power is bad for others wanting it."
Wufei felt his heart rate pick up as he remembered the deal Quatre had made with his king, but neither noticed, for Rasid was already pushing him to hiding his power. Quatre caught the concept quickly, but soon Wufei found a problem.
He could see the power. Usually, he just smelt it or felt it. Now, he could see it, building, making Quatre glow the same color as his eyes. Wufei could see the look of discomfort as the power grew within, pleading to be let out. Slowly, the power started to move, from his limbs to his torso, to his head, where Wufei knew destructive powers lay.
Wufei wanted suddenly to run. He tried to, but such was the power in the room that he could not move at all. "Rasid!" he shouted, and he only saw the man nod slowly, his eyes focused on the concentrated power, looking like a moth about to fly to the light.
Quatre threw back his head and screamed, and with that, the power flowed out of him like a wave at the sea's coast, bursting out, roaring, sucking everything to it before it started to fling itself toward shore. But this wave went in all directions. The furniture was thrown to the wall, and the stones cracked with the power.
Wufei saw the power rushing for him, and he tried to run, but the power was so strong he could not move at all. He struggled vainly before he felt his own enchanter power being sucked out by the tsunami of power.
It slammed into him and he felt the hard stone of the wall instants before all was darkness.
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(1): My mom didn't understand, so I had to explain it. Remember when Quatre, in an attempt to protect himself, attacked Wufei with a "raw physical attack with enchanter power"? Duo wasn't there, but he was hit by it too. It was that powerful: miles away, he was hit by it. Does it make sense to you guys?
* By the River and Sand: Oath, sort of. I personally do not swear and stuff, so I say stuff like "oh my goodness", and this culture needed an oath like that. The things that are most common to them are the river and the sand, so they make oaths by it, since it seems to live forever. Got it? Good.
Mmm. . . . Mac and cheese . . . I'm too lazy to cook it myself, so my sister (big huge grin) is nice enough to cook some for me!!
Just finished watching Ella Enchanted. Good movie. I've heard it isn't like the book "at all" for those who want to know. Still need to see Hidalgo. . .
Enough of my personal life!!! (Kay: Uh, DUH!!) Here's the TEASER.
Teaser: Next chapter, named Assassin __________________________________________________________________
"It was familiar," Darlian murmured. Duo only nodded. "But it is very powerful. I have sensed it growing."
Duo did not speak. He could not understand what Darlian was saying. In a moment, he understood partially as Darlian waved to a dark corner. A figure stepped out, his blue eyes glaring at Duo for a moment before he turned his eyes back to the king.
Duo knew him instantly. The King's man, the Night One, the one who attacked him in the night that one day.
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Thanks for reading on the K.K. Express. Please have a nice day and ride the K.K. Express again! We'll be happy to transport you again!
~ Kay Kylo
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